The leading coin and collectibles expos found in North America are brought to one and all by a company named Whitman Publishing. With the three huge industry events held in Baltimore, Maryland, Whitman has actually become the leading producer of coin and currency shows over the years. The first to be seen in 2018, the Baltimore Spring Expo, will be held March 22nd through the 25th, and collectors are already ‘buzzing’ about some incredible items that will be up for bid.

The story goes back to the 1930s, a time when a man by the name of Richard Yeoman was hired to work as a commercial artist at a company named Western Publishing. Yeoman was an avid coin collector and became extremely interested in the new coin boards that his company produced in 1938. His interest grew to the point where Yeoman helped create an extensive sales network for the coin boards, with outlets ranging from hardware stores to dime stores; shoe parlors to gas stations. And in 1940, Yeoman even redesigned the boards to accommodate a wider variety of coin denominations, thus increasing the number of coin collecting hobbyists.

Yeoman continued on this trek, gathering must-have data in order to put together a book for collectors that provided current values of coins, encouraging those collectors seeking rare coins across the globe. Yeoman’s hard work paid off when “The Handbook of United States Coins: The Official Blue Book of U.S. Coins” was first published in 1942. A few years later, a second book appeared, “A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book of U.S. Coins,” providing collectors with pricing information for buying and selling coins to dealers. These definitive pricing guides set, and continue to be the industry standard.

Creating over 300 coin collecting books and products for the hobby over time turned into a company known as Whitman Publishing, which now features three distinct product lines: Whitman, H.E. Harris, and the U.S. Mint. Within each brand, there are coin supplies and accessories to meet any collector’s needs. Whitman continued on this incredibly profitable path by holding their first national coin show in June of 2004 in Atlanta. The popularity grew exponentially which increased the number of Whitman’s Expos to three times annually in Baltimore, and once annually in both Nashville and Philadelphia.

This time out, however, Whitman is starting with something truly big for 2018. The headlines are everywhere, letting one and all know that a “magnificent 1879 Quintuple Stella” will be presented by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in their Official Auction held at the Whitman Coins & Collectibles Baltimore Expo this March.

The 1879 Quintuple Stella is among the most legendary issues of U.S. numismatics, for both its incredible beauty and absolute rarity. It is the larger ‘sibling’ to the more prolific Four-Dollar Stellas struck in 1879 and 1880. The issues were products of a global push to establish an international currency and stabilize the price of silver, which had been falling since the California Gold Rush. Though the U.S. Mint issued several significant patterns in the 1870s and 1880s, none were approved for circulation, causing the U.S. to abandon the idea of establishing an international currency.

When it comes to this Quintuple Stella rarity is important. It is a fact that just five examples survive of this large $20 pattern, one of which is forever off the market seeing as that the Smithsonian Institution is its’ home. The most recent example to sell was the Brand-Carter-Simpson piece bringing in nearly $1.9 million at a 2016 auction.

This coin can be traced directly back to its origins at the U.S. Mint, as well as the numismatics who have held it in their own collections, including J.W. Haseltine, Dr. Edward Maris, and more. Being a featured highlight at the March 2018 Baltimore Expo Auction, this treasure will be offered alongside numerous other rarities, including items from the very famous Vanderbilt Collection.

Coin collectors will be out in droves for the Baltimore Spring Expo, once again celebrating Whitman’s many decades of continuous service to the numismatic community. It most certainly will be a memorable sight to see!

For more information on events, lectures, auctions, as well as updates on the other expos that Whitman will be having in 2018, follow it all at: http://expo.whitman.com/.

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